DVD-Audio has been brewing for a couple of years now, finally going public with the Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player. Jonathan Scull got his eager hands on this groundbreaking machine last September, only to find that evaluating a new format is a complicated affair. Will this player, and DVD-Audio in general, soothe the audiophile heart? Scull takes a listen and spills the bits.

We've just posted something new for sale on Stereophile's Recordings page. But this is not just any new CD release—it's a comprehensive 10-CD boxed set of Robert Silverman performing the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas, recorded by our very own John Atkinson. Cheapskates rejoice: the complete 10-disc set retails for a very reasonable $65, bringing the price of each CD in the box to a mere $6.50.

Record 10 CDs worth of music in one weekend? John Atkinson writes: "I blanched. This was an enormous task: 32 sonatas; 103 individual movements; more than 11 hours of music—11 hours, 26 minutes, and 25 seconds, as it turned out." How to record Canadian pianist Robert Silverman performing Ludwig van Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas in such a short time? JA explains the revolutionary process in detail.

Robert Deutsch asks, "How can you tell an audiophile from a normal person?" RD's answer involves the name of the Vienna Acoustics Mahler loudspeaker, which Deutsch reviewed for the April 2000 issue of Stereophile. Deutsch writes, "I find Gustav Mahler's music to be on the ponderous side, but when I heard the Vienna Acoustics Mahlers at HI-FI '99, I was sufficiently impressed that I began the process of getting a pair for review." The results of his careful listening are not ponderous at all.

The economy may be slowing down in some parts of the country, but not, apparently, in Minneapolis, where national electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. announced December 7 its acquisition of both Musicland Stores Corporation (also of Minneapolis) and Seattle-based Magnolia Hi-Fi, Inc. The buyouts will give Best Buy increased exposure in rural malls and in the Pacific Northwest. The company also announced a plan to open several stores in Canada over the next three years, beginning with eight locations for which leases have already been signed.

First up is Stereophile's 2000 Products of the Year. This is an important resource for readers, and Stereophile editor John Atkinson has once again decided to post this oft-requested article in our online archives in the same month the original appears in the paper edition.

Recordings more than 100 years old can now be heard on the Internet, thanks to a new program established by San Diego-based startup MP3.com. Among the sonic treasures is Thomas Edison narrating a "phonographic trip around the world" recorded in 1888. The site offers copies of Edison cylinder recordings and early 78 rpm discs, all available for free.

DVD-Audio is getting a big push from Panasonic this season. A promotion running from November 7, 2000 until January 31, 2001 includes rebates on the purchase of new players and free discs from a wide assortment of performing artists.

When it comes to purchasing and using electronics products, the gap between men and women appears to be disappearing. That's one conclusion reached by a study conducted in early October by eBrain Market Research and published by the Consumer Electronics Association. The study, titled Women, Men & Consumer Electronics, questioned 1000 random households about their involvement with electronics technology.

First up, from the November, 2000 issue, is the Hovland HP-100 preamplifier. Michael Fremer writes, "While the HP-100 is Hovland's first publicly traded audio component, it is . . . the fulfillment of what's been Robert Hovland's goal all along: to bring such a product to market. Or so I was told. It's just taken 'some time to get it all right.' Given the company's history of more than 20 years, that sounds like an understatement." Fremer offers his sonic assessment.